Drawer construction



A. F. ERICKSON.

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1918. 1,830,936. Patented Feb. 17,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI lf5 l 6 E i6 @QQw A. F. ERICKSON.

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATlON FILED MAY 31, 1918. 1,330,936. Patented Feb. 17,1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 fzgfl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AXEL F. ERICKSON, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ALIBTEELEQUIP COMPANY, 01' AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION.

specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Kay 31, 1918. Serial No. 237,590.-

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, Axm. F. ERICKSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Aurora, Kane county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drawer Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction of metal furniture andmore particularly to a drawer structure that is adapted to be used as a unit in connection with and be attached to a work-bench or work-table.

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of a drawer structure or unit that may be readily attached to or detached from, a work-bench, a work-table, shelf or other support, without the use of special tools and without alteration to the structure to which it is secured. Another object of my invention is the provision of a drawer structure that will, when in position, afford an easy movement to the drawer, as well as prevent its accidental withdrawal from its guides. Another dbject of my invention is the provision in a drawer structure of suitable means for locking the same, either by a cabinet-lock or a padlock, and to mount the cabinet-lock barrel in such position that it will not project beyond-the vertical plane of the front wall of the drawer. A further object is the provision of a drawer-stop that may be reversed for the purpose of affording either a keeper for the bolt of a. cabinetlock or a member that will extend through the front plate of the drawer to receive a padlock. A still further object ofmy invention is the provision of a drawer unit which, when attached to the work-bench or work-table, will be provided with a protecting shield above the drawer compartment in order to prevent dirt and dust entering the drawer through cracks or joints in the table or bench.

Other objects of my invention will be obvious to others skilled in this art, among which is the rovision of a drawer structure entirely of s eet metal, that is dependable in its operation and comparatively economical to manufacture.

I prefer to accomplish the divers objects of my invention in substantially the manner hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part 'of this specification, in which-'- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a drawer structure made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a pers ective rear view of the front plate of the drawer disassembled.

3 is a transverse section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a conventional pelspective view of the drawer unit detached from the workbench or table.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmental longitudinal section showing'the drawer 'amb plate reversed for use in connection wi h a padlock.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the drawer j amb-plate removed.

Referring to the drawings, it will be ob served the drawer and its supporting-plate are entirely constructed of sheet metal that is bent or fabricated into the desired shape and secured together in any suitable manner, preferably by'spotwelding. The unit comprises a supporting plate provided with guides and a drawer body sl-ida'ble therein, together with suitable means for locking-the drawer to the supporting plate. The drawer supporting plate consists preferably of a rectangular sheet of metal 10, the longitudinal side edges whereof are each bent downwardly and then inwardly toward each other to provide oppositely disposed parallel ideways 11 to support the rim or edge of t e drawer. The transverse front edge of the plate 10 is bent upwardly at a rightangle to the plate to provide a flange 12 that fits against the fronfl edge of the workbench or table to which it may be secured, while the transverse rear edge of the plate 10 is bent downwardly to provide a strike-plate 13 for the rear Wall of the drawer. This supporting plate is preferably provided with screw holes for securing it to the under-surface of the work-table or bench by means of screws or the like, and adjacent its front edge has secured thereto, b means of screws and nuts, 14, a suitable rawer-stop or jam b-plate. This jam'b-plate, in the preferred form shown in Figs. 1 and 7, coma substantially U-shaped plate 15,

om one of the vertical, parallel arms of which a lateral extension 16 projects, that is ment or bolt 19 of a cabinet lock 20 will enage. I g The drawer preferably comprises a blank metal plate that is bent to provide a bottom 21, parallel vertical side walls 22 and an upwardly turned rear wall 23, the rear wall having its upper edge 24 bent forwardly or inwardly to rovide a member which is adapted to sli e over the extension 16 or to strike against the parallel depending member 18 of the j amb-plate. The up or edges of the side walls are preferably ent outwardl then downwardly and inwardly to provi e'the parallel lateral runners 25 that are fitted into the guideways 11 in the side edges of the supporting plate 10. Suitable securing flanges 26 are-bent inwardly at the forward ends of the side walls and bottom of the plate forming the drawer body, in order to provide means whereby a front closure plate 27 may be welded or otherwise secured thereto. A suitable drawer pull 28 is provided by bending the lower edge of the front plate 27 into an L-shaped flange, as shown in Fig. 1, so that its outer surface will fit up against the under-surface of the bottom 21. A similar flange 29 is made along the upper edge of the front plate 27, as shown, and is adapted to abut the member 18 of the jamb-plate when the latter is positioned as shown in Fig. 1, or will abut the opposite parallel member of the strike plate when the latter is positioned as shown in 1 order that a padlock may be used to lock the drawer, I rovide a horizontal slot 30 in the front wal plate 27 in alinement with the extension 16 of the jamb-plate, so

that said extension may ass through the front plate of the drawer, as s own in Fig. 6, where the hole 17 therein may be engaged by the bail of the padlock. When, however, a cabinet lock is employed, it is desirable to position the front of the lock barrel slightly back of the outer surface of the front plate 27, and to do this I prefer to employ a locksupporting plate 31, that is shown 1n detail in Fi 2 of the drawings. As illustrated, this p ate is preferably welded or otherwise secured to the front plate and has offset or raised portions or wings 32 upon its opposite vertical sides that are provided with open slots 33 to receive the lock-mounting bolts or screws 34 that ass through cars 35 on oppos1te vertical si es of the cabinet lock 20. A central aperture 36 is provided in this look late 31 in order to surround an inward y stamped embossment 37 made in the front plate, which embossment fits snugly around the outer edge of the barrel of the cabinet lock 20, as shown.

The up er L-shaped flange 29 of the front plate of t c drawer has a portion of its vert1ca1 web cut away to provide shoulders 39 at each end thereof against which shoulders the upper edges of the drawer side-walls abut w ereby a convenient gage is formed for assembly, and after assembl the sides of the drawer are properly spacer apart and prevented from withdrawal from the guideways 11 in the supporting top plate.

What I claim is 1. In a drawer structure, a front plate terminating at its upper edge in a rearwardly and downwardly disposed flange the downwardly extending portion of the flange being shorter than the rearwardly extending portion, whereby stops are provided within the side edges of the front plate; and side walls of substantially the same height as the front plate, the forward edges of which contact with the rear face of the front wall, while the upper edges of the side walls extend under the rearwardly extending portion of the front plate flange, and the inner faces of the side walls contact said stops at the ends of the downwardly extending portion of said flange of the front late, whereby the side walls are prevented rom moving toward each other beyond said stops.

2. A drawer structure comprising a bottom; a rear wall; a front plate terminating at its upper edge in a horizontally dis osed L-shaped flange, the lateral portion 0 said flange being cut away adjacent its ends to provide stops; and side-walls of substantially the same height as said front plate, the forward portions of said side walls being in contact with the front wall and the upper edges of the side walls contacting said stops, whereby said side Walls are prevented from moving toward each other beyond said stogis.

igned at Aurora, county of Kane, and State of Illlnois, this twenty-first day of May, 1918.

' AXEL F. ERICKSON. Witnesses:

JOHN KNELL, C. H. LEMBEKE. 

